I came here to discuss the administration's efforts to combat gun violence,
but first I need to address how the Department of Justice is dealing with an
emergency situation caused by a recent Supreme Court decision.

Absent prompt action on our part, that decision could result in the release
of thousands of dangerous criminal aliens onto the streets of America over the
next several months. Indeed, some courts are already beginning to order the
release of such dangerous criminals.

Recently, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. government may
not detain indefinitely, pending deportation, illegal aliens who have served
out criminal sentences.

Ordinarily, criminal aliens convicted of serious crimes are deported after
they have served their sentence. However, in some cases countries refuse to,
or unreasonably delay, return of criminal aliens.

The result of the Supreme Court's ruling is that criminal aliens will be released
from detention onto the streets of America simply because their countries of
origin refuse to live up to their obligations to take them back under international
law.

The Department of Justice believes these criminal aliens must be deported because
their history of serious crime makes them a threat to our community. The Court's
decision, combined with the refusal of some countries to respect their responsibilities
to accept the return of these dangerous criminals, clearly presents a great
challenge to our responsibility to ensure safety for the American people.

I am especially concerned that these criminal aliens may re-enter and prey
upon immigrant communities within the United States. Many of these criminal
aliens have extensive histories of brutal violent crime and pose a serious danger
to society.

According to Immigration and Naturalization Service statistics there are nearly
3,400 criminal aliens who are or will be subject to release under the Court's
order within the next three months. Among these criminal aliens are hundreds
of sexual predators, including a rapist and serial child molester, hundreds
of drug traffickers, and hundreds of violent criminals including murderers.
According to INS statistics, these criminal aliens have 1,851 drug convictions,
772 convictions for assault, 387 convictions for sex offenses, 125 homicides
and thousands of other convictions.

The Department of Justice and the INS are obligated to abide by the Supreme
Court's ruling and to apply it to those aliens who are currently detained whenever
the courts order such releases. For this reason the Department of Justice has
developed the following plan of action to comply with the ruling and to minimize
the risks to the public. The primary reason America is faced with this problem
is the home countries of these aliens often delay the deportation process or
refuse to take them back at all.

Our first priority will be to work with the State Department to request that
the home countries of these criminal aliens live up to their international obligations
and repatriate them. Most countries such as Great Britain, Canada, Brazil, Bolivia,
and Mexico fulfill their obligations and take back criminal aliens. A relatively
small number of countries either refuse or unreasonably delay doing so.

We owe it to the American people to make every effort to get these countries
to live up to their obligations. We will pursue the full range of appropriate
diplomatic measures.

Under U.S. law, the Attorney General has the authority to notify the U. S.
Secretary of State when a foreign government refuses to or unreasonably delays
accepting the return of a criminal alien from that country. Once that notification
is provided, the Secretary of State is obligated to discontinue granting immigrant
and /or non-immigrant visas to nationals of that country. This should be an
enormous incentive for countries to take back their criminal aliens.

If necessary to protect the American people, I will not hesitate to exercise
my responsibility under this statute to identify countries which repeatedly
and wantonly violate international law. Despite our best efforts to repatriate
these criminal aliens, we recognize that some countries may continue to refuse
or delay in fulfilling their obligations to take these individuals back.

Therefore, I am directing the Department of Justice to take a number of steps
to ensure that dangerous aliens are not released to the public as a result of
the Court's decision. These measures include steps the Department of Justice
can take unilaterally and in
coordination with state and local authorities.

First, some of these criminal aliens have additional state or local sentences
which they have not yet served. The Department will work closely with the state
and local authorities to determine if any of these criminal aliens can be returned
to state or local custody.

Second, some of these aliens may be subject to additional criminal charges.
I have instructed U.S. Attorneys to bring additional federal charges where appropriate.
We will work closely with our state and local counterparts to ensure that any
appropriate state or local charges are filed.
Third, we are also developing procedures to continue to detain aliens where
special circumstances may justify continued detention even if their prompt removal
is not likely. This includes special risks such as terrorists and especially
dangerous criminals. The Supreme Court suggested that such detention might be
appropriate in special circumstances.

I have directed the INS to issue appropriate regulations as quickly as possible,
and in the interim I am ordering implementation of such procedures by memorandum.
That memorandum will be submitted to and published in the Federal Register.

Fourth, we are developing procedures which will maximize our ability to continue
to hold criminal aliens while our diplomatic efforts are underway. These procedures
will give the INS, in consultation with the State Department, an opportunity
to evaluate the likelihood of repatriation, prior to any decision to release
an individual.

Again, I have directed the INS to issue appropriate regulations as quickly
as possible, and in the interim I am ordering implementation of such procedures
by memorandum. Finally, if we are unable to repatriate the individuals or to
continue to hold them, we are
developing conditions governing their release which will maximize public protection
and permit us to return them to detention if the criminal aliens violate those
conditions.

Conditions may include reporting requirements, limitations on certain activities,
registration requirements for certain categories of individuals and others.
Again, I have directed the INS to issue appropriate regulations as quickly as
possible, and in the interim I am ordering implementation of such procedures
by memorandum.

These criminal aliens never had a legal right to be in the United States or
forfeited that right by their own criminal conduct. They have been afforded
complete due process and have been ordered deported. I believe we owe it to
the American public to take every step necessary to avoid releasing these dangerous
criminal aliens onto our streets.

I believe these emergency steps the Department of Justice is taking are reasonable
and responsible to protect the American public. The guiding principle for what
I have just described is public safety. I have the opportunity while here in
Denver to recognize a local program and announce a federal initiative, both
focused on protecting the public from gun violence.

I recently had the honor of joining with President Bush to announce an unprecedented
partnership between local, state and federal government to reduce gun violence
in America. Today, it is my privilege to announce that the Department of Justice
is taking an important step to strengthen and solidify such a partnership right
here in Colorado.

The United States is a nation plagued by unacceptable levels of gun violence.
In America today, a teenager is more likely to die from a gunshot than from
all natural causes of death combined. We all have a moral obligation to see
that this carnage ends. We have, as well, a legal obligation to enforce the
law.

Federal law makes it a felony for convicted felons and other dangerous persons
even to possess a gun. America has good, strong gun laws on the books. When
gun laws are enforced, two things happen: First, gun criminals serve real time.
Second, the word goes out into the community that offenders can and will be
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Both of these things are happening here in Colorado with Colorado Project Exile,
a cooperative effort among local law enforcement, state officials and the federal
government to fight gun violence.

Since this partnership was begun in September 1999, Colorado Project Exile
has brought charges against 265 individuals for gun law violations. Of the cases
that have been resolved, the conviction rate is almost 90 percent. And the average
sentence received by gun criminals prosecuted under Colorado Project Exile is
over four years in prison.

Just yesterday a Colorado jury returned a guilty verdict against a Denver woman
who was indicted in April for possession of a firearm. Because the woman had
three prior felony convictions, she was prosecuted under Colorado Project Exile
as an armed career criminal.

Thanks to cooperation between the Denver police and federal authorities, the
woman faces 15 years to life in prison for her gun crime. President's Bush's
initiative to reduce gun violence, called Project Safe Neighborhoods, incorporates
and builds on the success of innovative programs like Colorado Project Exile.

Our goal is not to come in and federalize all gun prosecution - quite the opposite.
The objective of Project Safe Neighborhoods is to provide new resources and
unprecedented cooperation between all levels of law enforcement.

As part of this initiative -- and in the spirit of cooperation and partnership
it embodies -- I have the privilege to announce today that the federal district
of Colorado will receive a new federal prosecutor dedicated exclusively to prosecuting
firearms violations.

According to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, this represents more
than a 33 percent increase in manpower devoted to gun prosecutions in Colorado.

Colorado's new prosecutor is part of a commitment of federal resources to enforce
our gun laws. Project Safe Neighborhoods devotes more than $550 million over
the next two years to fight gun violence. Over $15 million in funding will go
to provide 113 new assistant United States Attorneys to serve as full-time gun
prosecutors.

Another $75 million is set aside for new state and local gun prosecutors to
work in partnership with federal law enforcement authorities. These are tough
prosecutors determined to enforce the law, including the federal law that makes
it a felony for convicted felons and other dangerous people to lie about their
records in attempting to
buy a gun.

I have directed all U.S. attorneys to prosecute to the fullest extent practicable
those who attempt to purchase a gun illegally. "Lie and buy" is against
the law, and I am determined that the law be enforced.

Project Safe Neighborhoods looks for five key elements in state and local gun
prosecution efforts:

* a partnership between local, state and federal authorities
* a strategic plan to attack gun violence
* training of officers and prosecutors in firearms enforcement
* outreach to the community to increase awareness and
deterrence, and
* accountability for results.

Each U.S. attorney is asked to implement these five core elements in a manner
that fits the needs of his or her district. By building on the efforts already
begun here, I am confident that all these goals can and will be achieved in
Colorado.

Prosecution of criminals is not the only - or even the paramount objective.
Deterrence of gun crime is a vital component of Colorado Project Exile and the
other state and local initiatives that together constitute Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Perhaps you've seen the billboards and the commercials.

The message of Colorado Project Exile to would-be gun criminals is simple and
direct: "If you pack an illegal gun, pack your bags for jail." Here
in Colorado and across the fifty states we are sending a clear message that
gun crime means hard time.

People who violate federal gun laws will find a determined adversary in the
Bush Administration, the Department of Justice and the Colorado law enforcement
community.